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It's all about free will, in our experiences, the choices we make as individuals or mass consciousness.

I'd like to think that we have free will but in my experience I have serious doubts about it. I mean when do we do something that doesn't have a feeling attached to it? People talk about free will as if it's so easy, when I think of free will I think of bending the laws of physics in your favor which isn't easy by any stretch of the imagination.

Actually, through experience you ALWAYS learn something whether you realize it or not, whether you want to or don't. How does one's consciousness expand? I think through adding knowledge through experience. So to me the ultimate purpose of spirit individuality is learning through various experiences. I have gone through this many times. When I suddenly realize why something is happening to me over and over again, it stops, there is no need anymore, because I have learned a certain lesson. And this realization and the knowledge is what expands my spirit. So, the element of learning is attached so to speak to the experience.

NEVER stated that we do not learn ... I held forth that we are not here (as non-physical beings in a human body) in the physical to learn ... our broader purpose for being here is to participate in the expansion of Consciousness.

Just being extended here from the non-physical as a human (e.g., experience) is enough ... it's not about doing (e.g., like gaining knowledge) ... it's about being (e.g., Consciousness extended here as human) ... we are bringing forth Conscious being ... that's the expansion.

And ... this is the 'leading edge' of Conscious expansion ... not some bottom up experience for the unlearned OR near-do-well's needing to take care of some past karma OR an original sinner needing salvation.

I guess the only thing I can add in here is my own belief as none of us really know.

I have been working with a belief which I wish to explore over time, it is that the consciousness is me, but I am not the consciousness. So in a way I am you and you are me, but at the same time we are still ourselves.

So in that respect, I believe that there can be individual prejudices in the astral. Because while we are all part of the consciousness, we are not the same. Which leads me to believe that the beings we see in the astral could also be separate parts of the consciousness, just as we are.

@Xanth, thinking all the water in the tub is the same. I find this offensive on behalf of water, which is part of me.

I guess the only thing I can add in here is my own belief as none of us really know.

I have been working with a belief which I wish to explore over time, it is that the consciousness is me, but I am not the consciousness. So in a way I am you and you are me, but at the same time we are still ourselves.

So in that respect, I believe that there can be individual prejudices in the astral. Because while we are all part of the consciousness, we are not the same. Which leads me to believe that the beings we see in the astral could also be separate parts of the consciousness, just as we are.

Thanks for chiming in. And I agree that we are consciousness but consciousness isn't necessarily us.

I guess the only thing I can add in here is my own belief as none of us really know.

I have been working with a belief which I wish to explore over time, it is that the consciousness is me, but I am not the consciousness. So in a way I am you and you are me, but at the same time we are still ourselves.

So in that respect, I believe that there can be individual prejudices in the astral. Because while we are all part of the consciousness, we are not the same. Which leads me to believe that the beings we see in the astral could also be separate parts of the consciousness, just as we are.

Hi Astral Potato ... I think you are closer to your answer than you realize ... don't mistakenly toss everything into the "sea of relativism" (e.g., none of us can know). And, don't let your claim that "none of us can know" become a belief, because that then becomes a barrier to your experiencing physical existence.

We can "know", because we can have experiences. An inner knowing is part of our nature, and it is the non-physical part of us (not the human). It takes some "tuning" to hear this inner voice, but it is possible. I generally cannot experience mine in clarity without regular meditation, and at least a focus 10 state. Meditation reduces the resistance to the very natural relationship with our non-physical inner being (inner voice). Meditation is ESSENTIAL to this clarity (knowing) from my own experience. This is why I often speak up boldly here about meditation as a practice.

We are not here to have OBE's ... we are here to extend from and work with our inner guidance ... to have co-created experiences as we extend from our non-physical inner being ... if OBE's are one of those experiences, then that's fine. However, it is NOT why we are here (and many here on the AP forum end up distorting that).

Part of the reason that you are having difficulty with getting your answer is that the context of your questions is lacking. If you re-work the context of your question (e.g., about being consciousness), then you can get a better answer. Essentially, the better question ... the better answer.

The short answer to your question is that we are BOTH a community (which would take too long to describe here) and an individual (human). This being (community and perceived individual) is all one thing (not separate). The community is basically the non-physical part of us (e.g., what you are calling consciousness) and the individual is the human part. It depends where your focus is. So here on the forum you are focused on being the human part of yourself. In meditation or an OBE we can sometimes perceive self closer to the community part of us. This is one of the reasons that guides or helpers suddenly show up in our OBE's or we may receive guidance during meditation.

Also (since it has been discussed ad nauseum here), there is not a "traditional reincarnation". We certainly become our choices here in the physical, but the karma portion of that is a human concept based generally on fear about the imbalances we experience (e.g., not a non-physical or community idea). Human karma is generally not accurate to the total reality. As physical humans, we see life in time slices (moment to moment) and separate, while for our non-physical inner being a moment may be 30 years (e.g., no delineated time experience) and not separate from consciousness. This is how an idea like "karma" becomes distorted by physical humans.

Hope this is helpful to your own travels.

P.S. I noticed in one of your earlier posts that you are interested in lucid dreaming, I can highly recommend reading Robert Waggoner. His book with Carolyn McCready is basic but excellent (less than $10 on a Kindle).

Plasma I actually remember this interview. I think I know exactly what you are talking about and when he said it.... hehe. I don't think people get sharp all of a sudden when they drop dead. Just to answer your question plain and simple I think yes absolutely. I'll bet you there are racist entities that aren't human too. It's a crowded universe.